Tirreno-Adriatico: Cavendish sustains broken rib but ruled out of race
Mark Cavendish has been ruled out of Tirreno-Adriatico after a heavy crash on Wednesday’s opening stage, in which he sustained a rib fracture, saw him finish outside of the official time limit.

The 32-year-old got back onto his bike after crashing and completed the stage, where he was immediately treated by Dr. Jarrad van Zuydam on the team bus.

Preliminary examination revealed no concussive symptoms but Cavendish did complain of pain in his chest which the medical staff ruled warranted further investigation at a local hospital.

“Unfortunately Mark was involved in a crash with about 5kms to go in yesterday’s team time trial. He came down pretty hard at around 55km/h and he sustained multiple abrasions and soft tissue injuries to his knees, hips, hands and some swelling on his face as well; but he had a lot of rib pain which we went to x-ray, and found that he has a fracture of the seventh rib on the right side.

“The fracture’s nice and stable and should heal well,” he said.

“The plan was to let him start stage two but unfortunately it was ruled he finished outside the time limit and so won’t be allowed to take the start,” said van Zuydam.

Cavendish expressed his gratitude for the messages of support he and the team had received since the incident.

“Thanks, as always, to everyone that’s sent messages, it’s hugely appreciated. It’s frustrating to have crashed, particularly in light of the concussion that I sustained in Abu Dhabi, but I’m just pleased that there’s no major damage done.

“Despite the pain from my injury I was really looking forward to a fast second stage and naturally disappointed that I’m not going to be a part of it.”

Image: Scott Mitchell

Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka

Founded in 2007, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka became the first ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. In the team’s palmares you can find a Milan-Sanremo victory, numerous stage wins at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, two Tour of Britain GC victories, and 42 National Championship titles. The team has bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. It’s also known as Africa’s Team due to its focus on helping African talents to the world stage of cycling. The team believes #BicyclesChangeLives and race to raise funds for the Qhubeka Charity which provides bicycles to people in Africa. #DoYourPart and gift a bicycle or part of a bicycle, by clicking here.

Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) partners with communities, public sector, private sector, and non-profit organisations to provide people with bicycles in return for working to improve their community, environment or school attendance.

Dimension Data (dimensiondata.com) uses the power of technology to help organisations achieve great things in the digital era. As a member of the NTT Group, we accelerate our clients’ ambitions through digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, workspaces for tomorrow, and cybersecurity. With a turnover of USD 7.5 billion, offices in 58 countries, and 31,000 employees, we deliver wherever our clients are, at every stage of their technology journey. We’re proud to be the Official Technology Partner of Amaury Sport Organisation, organiser of the Tour de France, and the title partner of the cycling team, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.

Learn more about the team at www.africasteam.com.

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Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka was dealt a massive blow even before racing truly got underway on stage 1 of the Abu Dhabi Tour. Mark Cavendish was involved in a crash in the neutral zone. It seemed the race director’s car slowed suddenly as it led the peloton out of Madinat Zayed, the reaction in the peloton saw 4 riders, including our Manxman, go down.

Unfortunately Cavendish had to abandon the Abu Dhabi Tour as a result of the crash. “Mark sustained a concussion and a whiplash injury after his crash today. Due to the concussion, we were not willing to risk rider safety and the call was made for Mark to stop the race. A serious neck injury has been excluded in hospital. He currently has some concussive symptoms and neck pain, but is otherwise stable. We will monitor Mark’s condition closely going forward.” explains Team Doctor, Dr Adrian Rotunno.

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka performed a great leadout for Edvald Boasson Hagen who did very well to make podium as he sprinted to third place on stage 11 of Tour de France.

Once again, the early break got away right from the beginning of the day. This time, three riders decided to take on the peloton, which didn’t seem too concerned about the situation. The front trio quickly established a gap of four minutes before the pack started to chase. With several teams eager to take control of the peloton, the break wasn’t left many chances of succeeding. However, one of the riders at the front, Maciej Bodnar (BORA-hansgrohe), almost managed to upset the expected bunch sprint.

Mark Cavendish has been forced to withdraw for this year’s Tour de France after fracturing his shoulder blade in the late crash on stage 4.

What looked to be a strong comeback to racing for Cavendish, is now over before it really began. Medical examinations at the hospital in Nancy, France, has confirmed that the Manxman has fractured his right shoulder blade after colliding with Peter Sagan and crashing against the barriers in the final sprint in Vittel.

Yas Marina Circuit, 26 February 2017 – Caleb Ewen avenged the embarrassment of his stage two defeat at Al Marina by cruising to victory on the Yas Marina circuit on the final day of the Abu Dhabi Tour – and this time delaying his celebration until after the finish-line. Ridden under floodlights and heavy rain for much of its 143 km, stage four saw Ewan definitively announce his arrival among the fastest sprinters in pro cycling and Rui Alberto Faria da Costa seal overall victory for the “home” team, UAE Abu Dhabi. Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data) successfully defended his lead in the Green Jersey competition (Points Classification) sponsored by Nation Towers, Patrick Konrad (Bora – Hansgrohe) grabbed the Black Jersey sponsored by Etihad Airways (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) thanks to his audacious breakaway, Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) kept his White Jersey sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports Channel (Best Young Rider) and UAE Abu Dhabi took the Team Classification.

PRESS CONFERENCE
At the press conference, the stage winner Caleb Ewan, said: “It feels great. This Tour started on a low with the crash then on stage two I came close but stuffed it up. It was great to repay the team for stuffing it up the other day. The team started working super early and were great.